How to Teach Scentwork
Everything you need to know about teaching your love of scentwork
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This Pro-Track course is designed especially for you if . . .
You love scentworking with your own dog.
You want to earn more by adding scentwork classes to your business
You've been looking for a truly pet friendly scentwork provider.
You want to be the very best for your clients.
Teaching scentwork to pet dogs and their people requires a very specific skill set. Unlike Police or Forces handlers, your clients come with a variety of breed types, none of which have been specially selected to be scentwork dogs, but all of whom can give the professionals a run for their money given half a chance! Your job is to bring out the detector dog in every pet dog that walks into your training hall.
Never before have I shared the secrets that have made Talking Dogs Scentwork® trainers the best in the business. But I share your passion, I want every dog to be a detector dog and you want to train them. Together we can help each other reach our goals.
By way of an 8 week training program that, when you are ready, you can use with your clients, I share the experience and skills I've learned while delivering hundreds of workshops to thousands of people. Using best practice protocols over the course of 10 lectures, I share:
Not just the how's, but also the why's of:
- Setting up your training hall
- Assessing the right target scent for each dog
- Teaching systematic, professional handling skills from free searches to a full search plan
- Ensuring success for each individual team, dog and handler
- Blind, blank, free and directed searches
- Keeping scentwork fun while building stamina and duration
- Coaching clients effectively at every stage of their scentwork journey
You'll find everything you need to learn how to be a supportive, knowledgable scentwork trainer plus the tools to deliver a great scentwork course to your clients. Each lesson includes Lesson Aims, Learning Goals for dog and handler, toolkit lists for trainer and client, plus a full set of client handouts.
Devising this course has been a labour of love for me. It includes:
- 40+ video clips - to illustrate challenges and solutions, demo how to coach different teams, different breed types, work in a variety of environments and more
- Downloadable 38 page course booklet
- Downloadable syllabus and client handouts for an 8 week Starter Scentworkers course
Join our exclusive Instagram group
Once you've enrolled in the school or on a course, you will be able to join our exclusive Instagram group. This is where we can share our scentwork journeys, inspire each other and stay connected as we learn with our dogs.
It is also where I will have live sessions where you can ask questions in real time, talk through challenges and dig even deeper into the world of scentwork.
"How to Teach Scentwork is well made and presented. Really enjoy watching your material, refreshing to see somethings I teach discussed by you."
- Grant Smith, The Smart Dog Training Centre
In combination with his previous experience, Grant has now completed this course and has been approved as a Talking Dogs Scentwork® Elite Trainer. This could be you too - let's get teaching!
Believe in yourself
Invest in your future
Excel for your clients
"I have recently discovered the joys of scentwork and an now addicted to it. Firstly, because my dogs love it so much but also because it is something we can do together that has many benefits for them and also builds the relationship between you and your dog and is something fun to do together. I have particularly enjoyed the Talking Dogs Scentwork because the focus is on enjoyment and fun for the dog in particular. As a dog trainer myself I would now like to add scentwork to my business so have just completed the How to teach Scentwork course. It is interesting and informative and sets out in detail exactly what you need to do and at a very reasonable price. I will definitely be doing more courses."
- Helen Bowker
Course Curriculum
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StartLesson 1 Part 1 - Preparation and scent introduction (20:21)
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StartLesson 1 Part 2 - Starting starter searches (17:12)
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StartLesson 2 - Starter searches & troubleshooting (27:17)
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StartLesson 3 - Directed search (4:30)
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StartLesson 4 - Introduction to corner and perimeter searches (12:19)
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StartLesson 5 - Complete the corners and add some layers (6:59)
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StartLesson 6 - Interior and blank searches (6:31)
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StartLesson 7 - The whole search plan (5:28)
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StartLesson 8 - Graduation
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StartClaim your certificate
Trainer Bev Smith, showing off her certificate. Her dogs Lexi and Skye are rightly impressed!
Believe in yourself
Invest in your future
Excel for your clients
Let's get started!
Get started now!
Frequently Asked Questions
Your Instructor
Since then I've been working hard to keep up with demand, such is the interest in scentwork. I work hard to stay at the forefront of my profession, staying creative, pushing boundaries and confounding expectations of what pet dogs can do. As the first national provider of scentwork training for non-selected (pet) dogs in Great Britain, TDS has quickly grown into the go-to scentwork training provider, with the TDS Detector Dog manual proving more popular than I could have ever imagined, selling well all over the world, but particularly in the UK, Europe and USA. I specialise in teaching all breed types, all ages, all abilities (physical, mental and emotional) Combining my years as a professional drug detector dog handler for HM Customs with my experience as a pet dog training and behaviour consultant, I tailor my teaching to dogs who don't have jobs, those who have been selected as companions rather than tools of the trade.
I work full time teaching Talking Dogs Scentwork® at workshops. online, at conferences and with major organisations, including Dogs Trust, Puppy School, Victoria Stilwell and the prestigious Woof! Conference.
Some of my working highlights include:
- Drug Detector Dog Handler with HM Customs & Excise
- Sirius Puppy Trainer in association with Dr. Ian Dunbar
- Assistance Dog Trainer for Hearing Dogs for Deaf People
- Behaviourist for Wood Green Animal Shelters
- Founding & running Talking Dogs Scentwork®, part of Talking Dogs Ltd.
- Creating TD Rally® - a sport for pet dogs & their people